I think though that it's one thing to ignore the films that came out almost 20 years ago before Superman Returns and had a completely different cast, as opposed to ignoring the film that came out 7 years ago and actually has the same cast you're planning to use in your next film. Oh and which, no matter how little loved, is the biggest-grossing movie of the franchise.

I'm not for ignoring X3, but this argument frustrates me. X3 may be the highest grossing, but it also slowed down the growth of the franchise. And the box office gross can also be interpreted as higher exposure for an inferior product, resulting in a damaged reputation.